Chapter 49: Beheading Han Feng

"Han Feng, you despicable and shameless villain! You betrayed the team back then, and now you have even defected to the heretics. You still have the audacity to show your face here—your actions are utterly nauseating!

"Utterly devoid of faith and loyalty, you did not hesitate to slaughter your own companions for your own selfish gain. You have lost even the most basic dignity, and your very existence is an insult to us all!"

The speaker was Gu Ningyun. The group had rapidly advanced into the mountain recess, their fierce gazes locked onto Han Feng.

As for Lin Fan, he remained silent, using his actions to demonstrate the depth of his murderous intent toward Han Feng.

Lin Fan's sword momentum surged like a tidal wave. Every step he took was accompanied by a slight tremor in the ground. His gaze was resolute, and his murderous intent and sword aura intertwined into an invisible, sharp edge.

"Prepare to meet your doom!"

Lin Fan let out a low shout. The Fire Scale Sword in his hand slashed through the air, carrying billowing flames and fierce sword qi straight toward Han Feng.

Facing this virtually inescapable attack, Han Feng did not retreat; instead, he advanced. He gripped a black long halberd tightly with both hands—a spiritual weapon he had brought out from that underground chamber.

The entire length of the halberd shimmered with a dark, gloomy light, its shaft covered in exotic runes, each one seeming to embody some ancient, primeval power.

"Haha! Lin Fan, I know your strength is extraordinary, but wanting to kill me won't be so easy!"

Han Feng's laughter carried a hint of ferocity. As he brandished the halberd, it transformed into a black dragon, meeting Lin Fan's fiery red sword radiance head-on.

Boom!

The two forces collided, producing a deafening roar. Flames and dark light intertwined, and energy ripples scattered in all directions. The temperature in the air rose instantly, and the flames within the Blazing Flame Valley seemed to grow even more violent under the impact of this power.

Lin Fan furrowed his brow slightly. He could feel that Han Feng's halberd was indeed extraordinary. Every attack carried tyrannical power, clashing directly with him and obstructing his sword momentum.

With the aid of the halberd, Han Feng displayed astonishing combat prowess, each swing of the weapon kicking up a storm that successfully fended off Lin Fan's fierce onslaught.

The battle between the two grew increasingly intense. Sword and halberd clashed in mid-air, emitting a continuous chain of metallic rings.

Lin Fan's offense was like a raging flood, while Han Feng stood like an unyielding boulder, holding his ground firmly.

Ten exchanges passed. Although Han Feng was already drenched in sweat, he stubbornly held on, an ugly expression twisting his features.

He had witnessed Lin Fan slaughtering a practitioner of the Yuan Mansion realm within the ancient tomb. He had believed that by refining the halberd in his hand, his strength would skyrocket, allowing him to contend with ordinary peak early-stage Yuan Mansion experts even without a Profound-grade spirit art.

Never had he expected—

Barely half a month later, Lin Fan's swordsmanship had advanced even further, actually suppressing him in combat.

As the battle progressed, Lin Fan gradually adapted to Han Feng's rhythm. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and his swordsmanship suddenly became even more ferocious and direct.

At that moment, he unleashed the Gale Sword Art to its absolute limit.

The Gale Sword Art was renowned for its fierce, wind-like, and tide-like offensive momentum.

Lin Fan's figure flashed swiftly, seemingly transforming into a howling gale. Every movement he made kicked up a whirlwind, and the sword qi on the Fire Scale Sword blazed like wild, untamed flames in the wind.

"Slash!"

Lin Fan shouted, his voice like rolling thunder.

Following his cry, the flames and sword qi on the Fire Scale Sword fused together, forming an intensely searing storm sword.

This single strike contained all of Lin Fan's anger and power. The temperature in the air skyrocketed due to the extreme heat of the sword qi, and the surrounding flames were drawn in by the energy, forming roaring dragons of fire that danced wildly with his sword momentum.

Facing this attack, which possessed the might of the heavens, Han Feng turned pale with fright. He swung his long halberd, attempting to summon layers of black defensive barriers, but before the Gale Sword Art, those defenses proved as fragile as paper.

Lin Fan's sword qi was like a materialized hurricane; not only did it tear the air apart, but it also instantly shattered the defensive barrier surrounding Han Feng.

The moment the fiery red sword radiance collided with the black halberd, the entire space seemed to tremble.

With a loud crash, Han Feng's halberd was sent flying under the torrential, wave-like assault, while the aftermath of the sword qi left deep, blade-like gashes across his body as blood splattered everywhere.

After executing this strike, Lin Fan's expression remained stern. Although he had not spent a great deal of time comprehending the Gale Sword Art, by daily swinging his sword to contemplate the true meaning of swordsmanship within the Sword Commandment, his realm of swordsmanship had reached an indescribable height.

Naturally, the Gale Sword Art had effortlessly attained the realm of perfection.

Executed with his current strength, the power of this move closely rivaled that of a Profound-grade spirit art.

In the past, Han Feng had used a saber as his weapon. Only after acquiring the long halberd did he switch to using a polearm. Yet, his mastery of halberd techniques was limited, and lacking a suitable spirit art, he had relied entirely on the advantage of a high-grade spiritual weapon to endure just over a dozen exchanges against Lin Fan.

It was a pity.

In the end, he was no match for the youth. This single sword strike completely ended his life.

Before drawing his final breath, his eyes widened in sheer disbelief as he stared at the youth before him. Having refined the long halberd, he had truly believed he could fight a peak early-stage Yuan Mansion martial artist.

Yet—

He had perished at the hands of Lin Fan, who possessed merely the cultivation base of the Divine Dan realm.

No one would ever know whether, in his final moments, he felt any regret for his past betrayal.

With Han Feng's demise, Huo Shan's expression altered drastically. His strength was on par with Gu Ningyun's, and he had believed that joining forces with Han Feng would allow them to smoothly eliminate Gu Ningyun and her companions.

He never imagined—

That Han Feng would actually perish at the hands of that Divine Dan youth.

The mere thought that even Han Feng could be slain, coupled with the sight of the youth striding toward him with sword in hand, suddenly filled his heart with panic.

"Huo Shan, the debt from that day, I shall return to you in full today!"

Gu Ningyun precisely captured Huo Shan's emotional fluctuation. The longsword in her hand was as cold as a glacier, every swing carrying an intent to freeze everything within thousands of miles.

Before Gu Ningyun's exquisite swordsmanship, Huo Shan retreated step by step, gradually showing signs of defeat.

As for Lin Fan, he had already closed in. He held no favorable impression of Huo Shan either; this man was sinister and cunning, in no way inferior to Han Feng. Back then, during the contest for the Void Dan Transformation Grass, had they not kept their guard up, they would have already died at this man's hands.

Seeing Lin Fan charge at him, Huo Shan's expression shifted once more. Just as he was about to open his mouth to beg for mercy, a calm voice drifted over from not far away.

"Cease."

The placid voice carried an unmistakable tone of command, its sound transforming into an auditory assault that actually forced Lin Fan's fatal sword strike back.

"I said, cease. Are you deaf?"

Accompanied by a sweeping hurricane, an extraordinary-looking young man was already standing before Huo Shan.

The long robe he wore was embroidered with gold-threaded dragon patterns, exuding a luxurious yet domineering aura. His hem fluttered in the wind like a true dragon soaring through the clouds.

Around his waist was a jade belt inlaid with various glittering gems, highlighting his noble status.

The young man stood with an air of composure and ease, every footstep seeming to contain a steady, immovable power, as if he were the center of this world and everything revolved around him.

Though his voice was calm, every single word was fraught with an irresistible authority, as though a single utterance would compel all the surrounding wilderness to submit.

"A gold-threaded cloud-dragon robe... May I ask which imperial prince of the Golden Cloud Dynasty Your Excellency is?"